Apple acquires Locationary, a Toronto startup, to help with troubled Maps app

Apple acquires Locationary, a Toronto startup, to help with Maps app

Apple has scooped up nascent Toronto-based startup Locationary in a deal that could help the tech giant fine-tune its widely-panned mobile mapping service.

Launched in late 2010, Locationary aggregates accurate, up-to-date information from users to create a synchronized database of local businesses, or an encyclopedia of what venues are open in the area, along with extraneous details such as opening times.

An Apple spokeswoman confirmed an earlier report of the deal to the Financial Post on Friday, but would not disclose how much it paid for the startup or any additional terms of the deal.

“Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” the spokeswoman said.

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Locationary may give Apple the boost it needs on the mapping front by helping it harness more accurate data for its own iOS app and OS X. Users criticized the tech giant after it made the well-publicized switch from Google Maps to its own Maps system last year.

“Apple badly needs help with its Maps products, the ugly duckling of its products lineup. Locationary in theory will help augment its Maps product, which is still in the early stages,” Kevin Restivo, senior mobility analyst at IDC Canada, said. “Apple is rapidly trying to build up the functionality of its products. One way of doing so is through acquisition.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook had to intervene to issue an apology and temper the resulting outcry over the lacklustre iOS6 mapping service last September.

Mr. Restivo called the deal a “smart acquisition” given the flaws in Apple’s Maps product, particularly outdated information. By creating incentives for its users, business listings are kept both geographically and temporally accurate in Locationary’s “unique” federated data exchange platform called Saturn. Users can conveniently check opening hours and Wi-Fi access through its digital map platform.

“There is no silver bullet when it comes to creating a great map product. It’s no simple exercise,” he said about Apple tackling its Achilles Heel in a race to create the most consumer-friendly mobile mapping application.

The Cupertino-based corporation is turning to its users to improve its homegrown Maps platform by leveraging Locationary’s crowdsourcing efforts, “a popular method of quickly aggregating information,” to keep up with its rivals, he added.

“It allows Apple to have more of a relationship with its users — to know more about them. People may not feel comfortable with that, but it’s the byproduct of having people use maps.”

While this deal echoes Apple’s past acquisitions — rarely high-profile purchases — the potential navigational tie-in with one of its more prominent procurements Siri, the personal assistant application, is significant, Mr. Restivo said.

“The possibilities with Siri are endless. There will be a day when we can speak into our iPhones — assuming we have one — and Siri will guide us to the places where we need to be. Google is closer to that vision right now than Apple is.”

Rival Google doled out US$1.3-billion to snap up Israeli social traffic-mapping and navigation company Waze in June, a sum that has prompted the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the hefty acquisition.

The announcement speaks to the bursting local startup ecosystem, said Matt Golden of Golden Venture Partners, a mobile-based early stage venture capital fund in Toronto.

“Apple just bought a company in Toronto — it’s a great reflection of the emerging technology ecosystem, immense talent, and exciting companies that are growing here,” Mr. Golden said. “Google acquires here, Apple acquires here, Zynga acquires here, and Facebook acquires here. The next major companies can be grown here, and are in the process of being grown here.”

Mr. Cook revealed earlier this year that his company acquired nine companies since October 2012 to this May. But only two of those acquisitions have been publicly disclosed: the other being WiFiSLAM, an indoor maps-based startup, for a reported $20-million in March.